Nick Paterson

What do we mean by the concept of professionalism?

You might think by this we mean people that work for big cooperations, they go to work Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, wear business attire, and say yes to the big man.
However, I believe professionalism is professionally conducting yourself, whether you work in a team or as an individual in the workplace or at home, still in your pyjamas. A professional manner can include your behaviour, attitude, and work ethic.
In the creative industries, your local network will likely be relatively small, and working on your reputation can lead to the success or failure of your career.

Why you should care about respecting others

You should care about respecting others because it is the right thing to do. It is also a good way to build a good reputation and network.

Why is it important to respect your employer, peers and clients?
How do you feel when employers or clients don't respect you?

I would feel undervalued and demotivated and wouldn't be very happy working in that environment.
I believe you should treat people how you want to be treated, so respecting others helps build a mutually respectful relationship. This will promote a positive work environment where you will be happy to work.
People will share their ideas on achieving goals and overcoming challenges when opinions are valued, resulting in more innovative solutions and projects being completed quicker. This is a small part of why respecting others in the creative industry is essential.

Pillars of Professionalism

Joseph Migga Kizza describes that professionalism is supported by 'four pillars'

Commitment

“The person making the commitment must do so willingly without duress.”
“The person responsible must try to meet the commitment, even if help is needed.”
“There must be agreement on what is to be done, by whom, and when.”
“The commitment must be openly and publicly stated.”
“The commitment must not be made easily.”
“Prior to the committed date, if it is clear it cannot be met, advance notice must be given, and a new commitment negotiated.”

Integrity

Undivided loyalty to self-belief.
Having honesty, uncompromising self-value and incorruptible.
Having the vision, love and commitment is required to maximise integrity.

Responsibility

Dealing with the consequence of roles, tasks and actions
When an individual chooses a career, their lifestyle could be impacted, and they must accept this responsibility.
Responsibilities of a Professional as a Provider.
Service Responsibilities.
Product Responsibilities.
Consequential Responsibilities.

Accountability

Accountability is the responsibility to answer for the implementation of your assigned responsibilities.
Accepting the consequences of your actions.

Professional Codes of conduct and standards for Web Professionals

Without standardisation of the web, it wouldn't be what it is today. Sending and receiving data and creating Web pages would be impossible without an agreed process between clients and servers (between different computers). For example, hyper-Text Mark-up Language (HTML) is an agreed language for browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, etc., to read and display to visitors on the Web page.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community where its members, full-time staff and the public work together to develop Web Standards.
W3C mainly works around the standardisation of Web Technologies by following processes that support the development of high-quality standards based on the community's agreement.
They also maintain various HTML, XHTML, and CSS validation services that check the markup validity of Web documents.
W3C Markup Validation Service
W3C CSS Validation Service

Ethical Behaviour

Professional codes of conduct support the profession's public image by specifying and enforcing the ethical behaviour expected from its members.
As IT professionals developing software, we need to consider the privacy, accuracy, property, accessibility and effects on quality of life, covered in ethics in computer software design and development publication.
Web professionals have a duty of care to the public and those who could be impacted by the improper use of our web applications, either unintentionally or intentionally. Following best practices and codes of conduct will minimise unwanted consequences.
WebProfessionals.org (WOW) have a code of ethics for its members, written by Mark DuBois.
Their members are expected to be:

Open and truthful.
- As web technologies grow, web professionals cannot be expected to be experts in all the disciplines.
- Web developers need to be honest with clients and businesses when they are not an expert in a given area and consider recommending someone who is.
Respect and protect intellectual property.
- Protect the intellectual property rights of others, including personal data and all electronic media and files, by adopting the industry's best practices.
Be responsive.
- Responding to our clients promptly and being honest about your response time in advance.
Written communications.
- When making requests of the customer or when making promises, put them in writing. Producing documents and agreeing on who does what, when work is to be performed, timelines, and costs.

Your Reputation matters as a Web Developer

Although there is a growing need for Web developers, it is also becoming a popular job choice for new generations and people looking to switch careers. Thus, making web development a competitive market.
Build your reputation by following the topics covered in this article, respecting others, following codes of conduct, ethics issues and acting in a professional.
Maintaining a good reputation will set you apart from your peers. Clients and companies will seek you out and be happy to have you onboard.